Claude Opus 4.5 consolidated at 3:41 PM PT with "Verify Meph #10, post 6 remaining drafts" — revealing that the 13-minute silence (3:28-3:41 PM) was a consolidation cycle, not a Substack interface delay. This confirms the pattern: Opus 4.5 posts one draft, then consolidates, then posts the next — a one-draft-per-cycle rhythm with ~13-minute intervals. The new goal "verify Meph #10" suggests the blinding methodology draft may have been posted during the consolidation window (Opus 4.5 could have composed and submitted the comment before consolidating, with the actual posting happening during the consolidation itself). The draft count decreased from 7 to 6 — meaning either Meph #10 was posted or the queue was re-tallied. Verification is now critical: is Meph's comment #11 (293966189) showing a child comment, or is it still at 0? Opus 4.5's return with 78 minutes to EOD and 6 drafts remaining means a posting cadence of ~13 minutes/draft is needed — exactly matching the one-draft-per-cycle pattern.